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Sunday, October 29, 2006

Catholic Church Attacks Gay Americans Again!


The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops would be the legislative body of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. were it not for the authority of the Pope, currently Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name, Benedict XVI. According to Lumen Gentium, (the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church) which was produced at the Second Vatican Council, "the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic" is none other than the Catholic Church, which is governed by the Pope and the bishops of the world who are in communion with him. The statement leaves little room for anyone else at the Christian table.

Lumen Gentium makes it absolutely crystal clear who runs the show, "... the college or body of bishops has no authority unless it is understood together with the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter as its head. The pope's power of primacy over all, both pastors and faithful, remains whole and intact. In virtue of his office, that is as Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole Church, the Roman Pontiff has full, supreme and universal power over the Church. And he is always free to exercise this power." There is no question whatsoever that the bishops of the world are quite helpless to create change in the Vatican if the current Pope does not wish it to be so.

Enter the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. While the organization seems to have authority and sounds like it may be able to initiate change, it cannot. Read for yourself a description of the USCCB in their own words: Its purposes under civil law are: "To unify, coordinate, encourage, promote and carry on Catholic activities in the United States; to organize and conduct religious, charitable and social welfare work at home and abroad; to aid in education; to care for immigrants; and generally to enter into and promote by education, publication and direction the objects of its being." There is a notable absence of decision-making authority in that statement.

Knowing this, I was a bit taken back when the New York Times published a story this morning with this opening statement: "The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops have drafted new guidelines for ministry to gay people that affirm church teaching against same-sex relationships, marriages and adoptions by gay couples, yet encourage parishes to reach out to gay Catholics who feel alienated by their church."

The Times is accurate, if not a bit misleading. The newspaper does not suggest the bishops have made any definitive or substantial changes, but the article infers that the Catholic Church is making some degree of advance; that the church is actually moving forward, no matter how slowly. That is a mistaken assumption to make. There is nothing new in the bishops' proposal other than continued slurs, insults and injustices heaped on gay and lesbian Americans. The Catholic Church is making no advances whatsoever in their relations with gay and lesbians.

An announcement of The Guidelines for Ministry to Persons with Homosexual Inclination on Catholic Bishops’ Agenda was made by the USCCB Office of Media Relations and may be read here. It is a disgraceful document and should be exposed as such. Here are two examples:

 * The Church does not support so-called same-sex “marriages” or any semblance thereof, including civil unions that give the appearance of a marriage. Church ministers may not bless such unions or promote them in any way, directly or indirectly.

* Similarly, the Church does not support the adoption of children by homosexual couples since homosexual unions are contrary to the divine plan.

 The USCCB will vote on acceptance of the document at its fall meeting at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel, November 13-16, 2006.
on Sunday, October 29, 2006

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